Android ups its lead over iOS

Android -- Google's operating system for mobile devices -- continues to maintain a hefty market-share lead over Apple's iOS in the US, according to stats released on Thursday by research firm ComScore.

For the three months ending September, Android's share of the US smartphone market was 52.1 percent, up slightly from 51.9 percent for the prior three months. Over the same period, Apple's share dipped to 41.7 percent from 42.1 percent.

But Apple's share may well show growth in ComScore's next report. Apple launched its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus devices on September 19, so the new phones weren't included in most of the three-month period cited by ComScore. Further, many smartphone buyers held off on new purchases as they waited for the iPhone 6 to debut. The phones got off to a hot start during the opening weekend with sales of more than 10 million units.

Demand for both versions of the iPhone 6 will very probably increase Apple's market share over the next three months and help it catch up with Android. However, Google and other Android-device makers have been busy launching their own new phones, including the Nexus 5 and the Samsung Galaxy Note . So how much market share Apple can snag from Android this quarter is the question.

Looking at other smartphone platforms, ComScore placed Microsoft's Windows Phone in third place with a market share of 3.6 percent, inching up from 3.4 percent. BlackBerry remained virtually static with a share of 2.3 percent, down slightly from 2.4 percent.

Among smartphone makers, Apple led the list with its 42.1 percent share. Second-place Samsung scored a 29 percent share, up from 28.6 percent. LG took home third place with a 6.9 percent share, followed by Motorola with 5.4 percent and HTC with 4.4 percent.

For the three months ending with September, ComScore counted 174 million people in the US who owned smartphones, up just 1 percent from the prior three months.